Question:
“A friend of a friend has asked to stay for free in my condo for a month while I look for a permanent tenant. I’m kind of a softie, so I’ll probably say yes. My only concern is that I’ve heard that after 30 days, they have the right to stay until you go to court to evict them. Is that true?”
Answer:
If you don’t know and trust the person, I’d be VERY careful!
California’s landlord-tenant laws heavily tilt towards the tenant.
Once someone is living in your property, they quickly take on all the rights of a tenant. And that means if they don’t want to move, you could be faced with going through an eviction process that could take a couple of months and cost you several thousand dollars.
So be a softie if you like, but you’re taking on a big risk.
